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Additions and Reorganizations to the PMBOK® Guide—Fifth Edition

Actual additions to A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge—Fifth Edition (PMBOK® Guide) are fairly limited, with only five new processes and one knowledge area added. The new processes include:

Plan Scope Management – The process of creating a scope management plan that documents how the project scope will be defined, validated, and controlled. [PMBOK® Guide—Fifth Edition Pre-Release Version October 10, 2012, page 108.]

Plan Stakeholder Management – The process of developing appropriate management strategies to effectively engage stakeholders throughout the project life cycle, based on the analysis of their needs, interests, and potential impact on project success. [PMBOK® Guide—Edition Pre-Release Version October 10, 2012, page 331.]

The new knowledge area (for a new total of ten knowledge areas) in the PMBOK® Guide—Fifth Edition is Project Stakeholder Management. This knowledge area is comprised of four processes, two that have been moved from the old Project Communications Management knowledge area, and two that are new in the fifth edition. The PMBOK® Guide—Fifth Edition describes Project Stakeholder Management as:

“The processes required to identify the people, groups, or organizations that could impact or be impacted by the project, to analyze stakeholder expectations and their impact on the project and to develop appropriate management strategies for effectively engaging stake-holders in project decisions and execution. Stakeholder management also focuses on continuous communication with stakeholders to understand their needs and expectations, addressing issues as they occur, managing conflicting interest and fostering appropriate stakeholder engagement in project decisions and activities.” [PMBOK® Guide—Fifth Edition Pre-Release Version October 10, 2012, page 331.]

Reorganization

The vast majority of the changes in the PMBOK® Guide—Fifth Edition fall into the category of reorganization changes. These changes may be a result of renaming an existing process, moving processes among the knowledge areas, or shifting the location of information within the PMBOK® Guide.

Section 2: Project Life Cycle and Organization was reorganized to create a more logical flow of information. The organizational influences portion of the section was moved from the end up to the beginning of the section. Additional attention was also paid within the coverage of organizational influences to how such factors impact the way that project teams work. New information was added to focus on the characteristics and structure of project teams and the coverage of EEFs were moved from Section 1: Introduction into this section. Additional attention was also added to the discussion of stakeholders and their impact on project governance. Finally, the discussion of project life cycle was moved and expanded at the end of the section.

Section 3: Project Management Processes for a Project from the PMBOK® Guide—Fourth Edition was moved into a new addendum (referred to as an Annex in the PMBOK® Guide—Fifth Edition) at the end of the main document. Annex A1: The Standard for Project Management of a Project was revised so that it would comprise a stand-alone document and was removed from the main content of the PMBOK® Guide so that the guide could continue to evolve and change independent of the actual standard for project management.

Section 3: Project Management Processes was created to replace the old Section 3 (referenced in the previous paragraph) and provide an overview of the project management processes and process groups.

The section on Project Communications Management has been split to provide more specific and separate attention to stakeholder management. The Project Communications Management knowledge area now has three processes instead of the five identified by the PMBOK® Guide—Fourth Edition. The three communications management processes included in the PMBOK® Guide—Fifth Edition are listed below.

Plan Communications Management

Manage Communications (formerly Distribute Information)

Control Communications (formerly Report Performance)

The move from Distribute Information to Manage Communications, and Report Performance to Control Communications was more than a simple renaming of the processes. In addition to changing the process names, the definition of the processes were revised to eliminate confusion between the processes and overlap with other controlling processes.

Other changes at the process level include:

Updated definition: Develop Project Charter

Updated definition: Develop Project Management Plan

Name change: Direct and Manage Project Execution to Direct and Manage Project Work

New Examination Based on PMBOK® Guide—Fifth Edition

Finally, anyone who is contemplating pursuit of their PMP® or CAPM® certification within the next twelve months is anxious to know when the certification examinations will change. Both the PMP and CAPM examinations will change from dependence on the PMBOK® Guide—Fourth Edition to focus on the PMBOK® Guide—Fifth Edition on July 31, 2013. As we have seen in previous change cycles, the demand for examination seats will likely increase steadily between now and the launch of the new examinations on July 31, 2013. Anyone who wants to test on the basis of the PMBOK® Guide—Fourth Edition should make plans to sit the examination as early as possible in 2013 to ensure the availability of an acceptable testing opportunity.